Vision Statement

Core Values

Highland Baptist Church is…

. . Biblically-based. We have accepted the authority of the Bible and seek to live by its counsel. We believe God has revealed Himself in His Word.. . . relational. We love each other! Relationships are a key component to the health of our church. We strongly believe in living in community with each other.. . .multi-generational. Our church is filled with people of all ages. We love it! We worship together, study the Bible together and engage in ministry together.. . .multi-cultural. People from all walks of life call our church “home.” It truly is a place where people from across the socio-economic, educational, life-situation, and ethnic spectrum are welcomed and loved. Our diversity is celebrated!. . . healthy. We promote health at our church. We believe Jesus offers us the way of life! We enjoy living! Our church is a place to learn to live life to the fullest.. . . missional. We care about our community and our world. If you come here – you may find yourself involved in ministries from Lubbock to Africa!. . . not afraid to take risks. We believe God has called us to live – by faith! So, we are a church that wants to launch out when we sense God leading us.. . . active in ministry. There is an atmosphere of expectancy in our church. We expect our people to be engaged in meaningful ministries. Everybody is expected to use their gifts in ministry through our church to make a difference in our world.

Beliefs

About God the Father
He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. He reigns with providential care over the universe and the flow of human history goes according to His purposes and plan. (Psalm 19:1-3; 1 Timothy 1:17)

About Jesus
Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is co-equal with the Father. Jesus has eternally existed and be-came man at His incarnation. He lived a sinless human life and offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all people by dying on the cross. He bodily arose from the dead after three days to demonstrate His power over sin and death. He ascended to Heaven’s glory and will return someday to earth to reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. (Romans 1:3,4)

About the Holy Spirit
He is the third person of the Trinity. He guides men into all truth; exalts Christ; convicts of sin, righteousness, and judgment; cultivates Christian character; comforts believers; bestows spiritual gifts by which believers serve God; and seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the lives of believers is the assurance of God to bring us into the fullness of the stature of Christ. (John 14:16-27; John 16:7-13)

About the Bible
The Bible is God’s Word to us. It is written by human authors, under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is the supreme source of truth for Christian beliefs and living. Because it is inspired by God, it has salvation for its end and is truth without any mixture of error. (Psalm 19:7-10; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21)

About Human Beings
People are made in the image of God and are the supreme object of God’s creation. All of us are marred by an attitude of disobedience toward God called sin. Sin separates people from God and causes many problems in life. (Ephesians 2:1-22)

About Salvation
Salvation is God’s free gift to us, but we must accept it. We can never make up for our sin by self-improvement or good works. Only by trusting Jesus Christ as God’s offer of forgiveness can anyone be saved from sin’s penalty. When we turn from our self-ruled life and turn to Jesus in faith, we are saved. Eternal life begins the moment one receives Jesus Christ into his/her life by faith. (Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus 3:5)

About Eternal Security
Because God gives us eternal life through Jesus Christ, the true believer is secure in that salvation for eternity. If you have been genuinely saved, you cannot “lose” your salvation. Salvation is maintained by the grace and power of God, not by the self-effort of the Christian. It is the grace and keeping power of God that gives us this security. (John 10:29; Ephesians 2:1-10; 1 Peter 1:3-5)

About Eternity
People were created to exist forever. We will either exist eternally separated from God by sin or eternally with God through forgiveness by salvation. To be eternally separate from God is Hell. To be eternally in union with Him is eternal life. Heaven and Hell are real places of eternal existence. (John 3:16; Revelation 20:15)

About Baptism
We believe that scriptural baptism must be: (a) by being completely immersed under the water, and (b) after salvation. Jesus was immersed, and all baptisms in the New Testament were by immersion. These two facts set the standard for baptism today. Baptism has no saving power but is the first act of obedience symbolizing (a) the believer’s faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus; (b) the believer’s death of sin and resurrection to walk a new in Christ; and (c) the Christians belief that he will die, be buried, and that Jesus will resurrect him from the dead. (Matthew 3:13-17; Matthew 28:18-20)

About the Lord’s Supper
The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby believers remember the death of the Lord Jesus and anticipate His second coming. The bread is symbolic of His body and the juice represents His blood. (1 Corinthians 11:23-29)

About Tithing
We believe in giving of the tithe–ten percent of our gross income–as the biblical standard of giving. The tithe is to be given as an undesignated offering to the “storehouse” ministry of the local church. According to Scriptures, we are to give cheerfully, regularly, systematically, proportionately, and liberally for the advancement of the Redeemer’s cause. (Malachi 3:8-12; 2 Corinthians 9:6-11)

About Evangelism
It is the duty of every born-again follower of Jesus Christ and of every church to endeavor to make disciples of all men everywhere. It is the command of Christ for every believer to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by personal effort and by other methods in harmony with the gospel of Jesus Christ. (Matthew 9:37, 38; Acts 1:8; Romans 10:13-15)

About the Church
A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a local body of baptized believers who are associated by their common faith and fellowship with Jesus. A local church is to observe to ordinances: (1) baptism, and (2) the Lord’s Supper. The church should exercise their God-given gifts and extend the gospel to the ends of the earth. The church is an autonomous body serving under the Lordship of Christ. All members are equally responsible as they serve with the scriptural officers of the church, the pastors, and deacons. (Acts 2:41, 42; Acts 15:1-30)

About Christian Unity
To live in harmony with other believers is clearly the teaching of the New Testament. It is the responsibility of each believer to endeavor to live in fellowship with each member of the congregation. It is further the responsibility of each member to bring all gossiping and backbiting to an end. (Ephesians 4:3-6)